p.1 #1 · Sony A7R5 for landscape photography: a technical review
I have written an in-depth (4,000+ words) review of the A7R5. Unlike others, it doesn't attempt to go into all aspects of the camera, but instead concentrates on those features of interest to landscape photographers.
Besides being relevant for photographers trying to decide whether to upgrade, this write-up provides technical tidbits to those interested in current camera technology and shooting methods (for instance, the image stabilization results are quite instructive regardless of the camera you use) as well as a few practical tips for A7R5 owners.
p.1 #5 · Sony A7R5 for landscape photography: a technical review
Thank you. Great review! It covers exactly what I wanted to know as a7riv (mostly landscape) shooter.
One question: is the measurement of stabilization done with full manual or EFCS shutter mode? There could be a difference between these two.
Improved stabilization would be also very useful in silent (full electronic) shutter modes to reduce scene distortion at any shutter speed as sensor takes 1/10s to scan.
p.1 #6 · Sony A7R5 for landscape photography: a technical review
jtra wrote:
One question: is the measurement of stabilization done with full manual or EFCS shutter mode? There could be a difference between these two.
Improved stabilization would be also very useful in silent (full electronic) shutter modes to reduce scene distortion at any shutter speed as sensor takes 1/10s to scan.
I set up the camera the way I usually do for landscape photography, which is mechanical shutter (what you meant by "manual"?) with EFCS.
p.1 #8 · Sony A7R5 for landscape photography: a technical review
qtluong wrote:
I set up the camera the way I usually do for landscape photography, which is mechanical shutter (what you meant by "manual"?) with EFCS.
p.1 #10 · Sony A7R5 for landscape photography: a technical review
Thank you @qtluong for your excellent review and write up on the A7RV and especially on how it compares to the A7RIV, which I own. I am particularly interested in the IBIS improvements, as I do a lot of outdoor handheld portraits in the surrounding desert and mountain areas in the afternoon and evenings. I know what a true IBIS of 5 or more stops is as I have been shooting Olympus EM-1, EM-1.3 and now OM-1 since 2013 for these shoots. I can take shots with an Olympus body and a 85mm or 150mm (FF eq) lens at 1/15 of a second no problem, thus keeping the base IOS longer into the golden hour before breaking out the flash setup. I added Sony FF in late 2018 and the IBIS on my A7III and now A7RIV is not very good in comparison to Olympus and no where near what Sony claimed, at least 2 stops behind. Your test results (quoted below) show a 1 stop improvement over the A7RIV and that is welcome.
“However, for a large portion of the graph, that number is consistent enough that we can read it as about 2 1/3 stops for the A7R4 and 3 1/3 stops for the A7R5, therefore a one-stop improvement: not anywhere close to the claimed values, but still significant.”
I mainly use the Batis 85 and 135 lenses for portraits with the a7RIV and they have added OIS, which does help improve the Sony IBIS a stop or so. The additional 1 stop with the A7RV with a Batis lens might finally get me close to what the EM1.3/OM-1 IBIS can do without added lens OIS.
But is seems I won’t be giving up my Olympus gear very soon for a few other reasons as well. I use the hand held Hi Res shot of 50 MP (80MP on stable surface) and having it all processed in camera, both raw and jpeg, in 12 seconds or less is really convenient. I can see instantly if I got the result I want, no way I want to do that process on a computer at a later date. The now 6 stop Live ND 64 feature is not a ploy, it really works and I am using it for landscapes and moving water (but for portraits with flash, to lower the flash sync speed, I still need a screw-on ND). And the sensor dust you mentioned, I don’t know why but it seems the Sony gets dust a lot quicker and more often than my Olympus bodies and I do change lenses in the field about the same on both, as I mainly shoot primes.
So I will continue to be a 2 system shooter it seems…
p.1 #11 · Sony A7R5 for landscape photography: a technical review
qtluong wrote:
Any comments welcome!
Although I am very unlikely to shoot the a7rV (my current a7iv is perfect for my needs),
the opportunity to see your wonderful photos was the highlight of my day.
The amount of work you have put into your website is not lost on me. Congrats.
Give yourself a pat on the back!
Mar 15, 2023 at 01:13 PM
Steve Spencer Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #12 · Sony A7R5 for landscape photography: a technical review
SpecFoto wrote:
Thank you @qtluong@ for your excellent review and write up on the A7RV and especially on how it compares to the A7RIV, which I own. I am particularly interested in the IBIS improvements, as I do a lot of outdoor handheld portraits in the surrounding desert and mountain areas in the afternoon and evenings. I know what a true IBIS of 5 or more stops is as I have been shooting Olympus EM-1, EM-1.3 and now OM-1 since 2013 for these shoots. I can take shots with an Olympus body and a 85mm or 150mm (FF eq) lens at 1/15 of a second no problem, thus keeping the base IOS longer into the golden hour before breaking out the flash setup. I added Sony FF in late 2018 and the IBIS on my A7III and now A7RIV is not very good in comparison to Olympus and no where near what Sony claimed, at least 2 stops behind. Your test results (quoted below) show a 1 stop improvement over the A7RIV and that is welcome.
“However, for a large portion of the graph, that number is consistent enough that we can read it as about 2 1/3 stops for the A7R4 and 3 1/3 stops for the A7R5, therefore a one-stop improvement: not anywhere close to the claimed values, but still significant.”
I mainly use the Batis 85 and 135 lenses for portraits with the a7RIV and they have added OIS, which does help improve the Sony IBIS a stop or so. The additional 1 stop with the A7RV with a Batis lens might finally get me close to what the EM1.3/OM-1 IBIS can do without added lens OIS.
But is seems I won’t be giving up my Olympus gear very soon for a few other reasons as well. I use the hand held Hi Res shot of 50 MP (80MP on stable surface) and having it all processed in camera, both raw and jpeg, in 12 seconds or less is really convenient. I can see instantly if I got the result I want, no way I want to do that process on a computer at a later date. The now 6 stop Live ND 64 feature is not a ploy, it really works and I am using it for landscapes and moving water (but for portraits with flash, to lower the flash sync speed, I still need a screw-on ND). And the sensor dust you mentioned, I don’t know why but it seems the Sony gets dust a lot quicker and more often than my Olympus bodies and I do change lenses in the field about the same on both, as I mainly shoot primes.
So I will continue to be a 2 system shooter it seems… ...Show more →
Keep in mind how many stops improvement you get depends on how shaky your hands are. I have shaky hands and IBIS helps me more than most because of that. I even notice that I get more improvement but less absolute performance when I have had a lot of caffeine. The same goes with the theoretical limit of IBIS. That theoretical limit is the limit with rock solid hand holding (which almost nobody has). You can get more improvement (but less absolute performance) when you are a bit shakier like me. Said another way that theoretical IBIS limit applies to a limit on actual performance, but it isn't a limit on improved performance. Improved performance with IBIS is always going to be most beneficial to people like me with shaky hands.
p.1 #13 · Sony A7R5 for landscape photography: a technical review
Tyvm QT
This type of reviews are exactly what i'm looking forward too, in the process of 'thinking' A7RV upgrade. Especially the IBIS testing was nice. I often take 15-30 image in one streak for IBIS 'peaking' (as in hoping for one tripod sharp image). Usually only one is very sharp (at least 1-2 stops sharper then rest). Maybe with the 8 IBIS on Sony a7rV this will work same but even better, it's clear though at any setting you almost get a stop better performance, wich is really nice.
And what i asked many people you also showed: various files sizes with lossless compressed.
p.1 #14 · Sony A7R5 for landscape photography: a technical review
This is an excellent review. I had already decided to pre-order the A7RV and sell my A7RIV because many of the improvements and upgrades that on their own would not be enough to make the upgrade decision easy, but taken as a whole they add up to an more refined version of a great landscape camera for me. Your keen observations in this review just helps me feel more justified in my decision to upgrade. Thanks!
p.1 #15 · Sony A7R5 for landscape photography: a technical review
Excellent review, I especially liked the scientific approach to the IBIS analysis. Looks like you spent quite a bit of time evaluating the camera, I'm glad you spent the extra time to document and share your results with us.
p.1 #16 · Sony A7R5 for landscape photography: a technical review
Nice one! I may be in the minority, but wish you'd covered and compared the 4 vs 16 shot pixel shift. Would love to see if the 16 shot introduces more room for error and if it's worth it in the final image. Happy to see that it's usable now!
